When the Lord saved me, He gave me an insatiable hunger and thirst to know Him and His Word. With no one to disciple me, I did the only thing I knew to do and that was to beat a path to my small, country church three times a week. Thankfully, we have been blessed with pastors and teachers who faithfully teach the Bible. After taking notes and availing myself to all the sound Bible teaching I could get my hands on, I sat at the feet of Jesus, and He taught me. He’s been engraving His Word on the tablet of my heart ever since. The lessons that have really stuck with me are the ones where my personal life intersected with God’s Truth. These pearls of wisdom are recorded on the pages of no less than twenty-one journals.

It never dawned on me till now, but for the last twenty-something years, these lessons have been spilling over into the lives of the women I have ministered to. Never would I have imagined that some of these lessons would one day be published. Yet, here I am, publishing my first two books—Spiritual Matchmaking and Strand of Pearls Discipling Curriculum!

To be honest, putting my life and heart on paper as an open book for the world to read is intimidating. But after years of study and listening to the gentle but persistent promptings of the Lord, I felt the deep conviction that I had something of value to share and that it was time to do it. Learning the intricacies of publishing a book has been an eye-opening and sometimes daunting task. In the process, I have been brought to a place where I had to meet and confront some of my most persistent, lifelong fears and struggles. In Book Two of this series, I will divulge my shameful secret, and then you will understand what a giant leap of faith writing this book has been for me personally.

Nevertheless, I am convinced that God’s Word is perfect and has the power to accomplish anything and everything that He desires it to, regardless of the credentials of the vessel He chooses to use. It’s all for His glory anyway.

If you are not into deep Bible study, this may seem a little odd to you, but I have spent the last eight years diving into the book of Ephesians. The deeper I went—the more I found. I continue to be awed by the bottomless treasure trove it contains. I’m certain that the profound and practical truths that I have discovered in this rich epistle could fill book after book. A verse by verse approach to Bible study is my preference, but it’s highly unlikely I could finish the monumental task of completely expounding upon any book of the Bible in my lifetime! Besides that, I wanted to offer a doable study that women could use in discipling relationships. The solution to this dilemma was to write a series comprised of four separate workbooks for women to use in group discipling relationships. Each workbook is twelve weeks in length, and the series is titled The Profound Mystery of Christ and His Bride.

I liken the process of writing this series on the book of Ephesians to giving birth to quadruplets. Book number one, Spiritual Matchmaking, is birthed, published, and ready for purchase. Book number two, 7 Things Every New Bride Needs to Know, is close to delivery. The last two babies in the series are Getting Dressed for the Wedding and He Saved the Best for Last. These will be, Lord willing, delivered later in 2018 and early 2019.

It’s with great excitement and hopeful expectation that I offer this book to you, and I can hardly wait to see what the Lord will accomplish in the lives of the women who do these studies!